Let Me Be Your Hero
by Reianshitsu
Summary: Uploaded with permission - Times of desparation and deep thought inspire a few people to define the term "hero".


_**Let Me Be Your Hero**_

_By: Rèîán§hitsü_

_**This story is based off of and incorporated with the song Hero by Enrique Iglesias, if you haven't heard the song you really should! It's a beautiful song that inspired this beautiful story. I hope you enjoy the story.**_

_**I would like to dedicate this story to my friend Kanda. I'd be your hero without a moment's hesitation. Don't forget that.**_

Kusari was always making herself tough. She ways always fighting to be stronger, to live up to Nozomu. Someone she had no business trying to be like or overcome. Orimaru was sitting on his bed, a few inches from Kusari, thinking about everything he knew of her. She was staring off to the side before Orimaru gently put his hand on her neck. She looked at him a moment then leaned toward him until her face was only inches from his.

"_Let me be your hero…" _Orimaru whispered in the otherwise silent room.

Raidne was standing by a small lake, the moonlight shinning off the still water. Drako walked up beside her. She looked at him and smiled, glad to see him. Then Drako offered his hand to her, there beside those still, sparkling waters.

"_Would you dance, if I asked you to dance?" _Drako asked, offering Raidne a smile.

_W o u l d .. y o u .. r u n .. a n d .. n e v e r .. l o o k .. b a c k .. ?_

Raidne took his hand and stepped up close to the man she found comfort and peace in. He put his arms around her waist as they danced there in the quiet of the night.

_W o u l d .. y o u .. c r y .. i f .. y o u .. s a w .. m e .. c r y i n g .. ?_

Darecry was standing by one of the windows in his castle, watching the rain as it poured down hard on the ground outside. He couldn't quite explain why but he felt sad, almost like his heart was broken. He felt vulnerable and broken. Tears crawled down his cheeks as he watched the sky cry with him.

Nozomu walked up beside him, turning Darecry's attention suddenly to him.

_W o u l d .. y o u .. s a v e .. m y .. s o u l .. t o n i g h t .. ?_

Nozomu slowly inhaled, chest rising for a moment, then he exhaled and his chest fell as his eyes shut. In the next moment he was looking at Darecry silently, concern in his eyes but no words coming from his mouth. He reached out and gently put his hand on Darecry's check, brushing the tip of his finger with the corner of Darecry's lips.

_W o u l d .. y o u .. t r e m b l e .. __i f .. __I .. t o u c h e d .. y o u r .. l i p s .. ?_

Nyx held her arms tightly around her lover's necks. She desperately didn't want to let go, her eyes were shut tighter then ever as she fought tears with all her strength. Taizen was already crying and Yasuhiro was trying his best not to, though he wasn't doing a very good job. He was trying really hard to smile for her.

_W o u l d .. y o u .. l a u g h .. ? .. __O h .. p l e a s e .. t e l l .. m e .. t h i s .. !_

Nyx hung her head between theirs, he shoulders slightly dropping for a moment. She was going to war for France and she was scared she wouldn't see them again, this war was going to be bad.

_N o w .. w o u l d .. y o u .. d i e .. f o r .. t h e .. __o n e .. y o u .. l o v e .. ?_

Nyx slowly let go, every muscle in her arms fighting not to. She stepped back slightly looking at them, tears in her eyes, they could obviously tell she was fighting very hard. A tear fell from Yasuhiro's eye as his lips started to shake slightly. Nyx ran her hands down their shoulders for a moment then turned and walked out the open door, where Lorelei and Yevgeny followed her. Vallen looked at them a moment, almost like he was promising them she'd be okay, then he followed the other soldiers.

_H o l d .. m e .. i n .. y o u r .. a r m s .. t o n i g h t .._

"_I can be your hero baby," _Orimaru suavely said. He pressed his lips against hers gently, Kusari shutting her eyes and kissing back.

_I .. c a n .. k i s s .. a w a y .. t h e .. p a i n .._

"_I will stand by you forever," _Raidne softly promised Drako, before leaning her head against his chest, shutting her eyes. Drako smiled as he held her close, his arms a sense of security for her.

_Y o u .. c a n .. t a k e .. m y .. __b r e a t h .. a w a y .._

Raidne danced with him for moments longer before she stopped and leaned back. She told him about a mission she had for dawn that morning. It was fairly simple and shouldn't take very long, so she had been sent alone. Drako offered to accompany her but Raidne told him that it was alright.

_W o u l d .. y o u .. s w e a r .. t h a t .. y o u ' l l .. a l w a y s .. b e .. m i n e .. ?_

Darecry reached up and put his hand on Nozomu's, shutting his eyes, shutting out the world, for a few still moments in time. Nozomu felt almost as if he was being ridiculously helpless so he pulled his hand away from Darecry's cheek and put it under his chin, tilting his head up. Darecry opened his eyes and looked into Nozomu's golden irises.

_W o u l d .. y o u .. l i e .. ? .. W o u l d .. y o u .. r u n .. a n d .. h i d e .. ?_

_A m .. I .. i n .. t o o .. d e e p .. ? H a v e .. I .. l o s t .. my .. m i n d .. ?_

Orimaru pulled back from the kiss, leaning back on the bed, Kusari following him down. She put a hand on either side of his head and a knee on either side of his waist, staring down at him like everything around them had stopped.

_I .. d o n ' t .. c a r e .. y o u ' r e .. h e r e .. __t o n i g h t .. _

Orimaru moved his hand from her neck to her cheek then to her lips, tracing them slowly as he looked into her blue eyes.

_I .. c a n .. b e .. y o u r .. h e r o .. b a b y .. !_

Drako pulled her close and brushed his lips against hers, as she slipped her arms around his neck. Raidne kissed back, leaning against Drako as if she needed him more then she even knew. He pulled away soon after, smiling at her as she smiled back. He held her a minute longer then let go and told her that he loved her. She said the same then left him there beside the shinning lake.

_I .. c a n .. k i s s .. a w a y .. t h e .. p a i n .._

Taizen put his arms around his sister, assuring her that Yevgeny was coming back in one piece. Yasuhiro watched from a treetop, thinking about how Taizen was confidently telling his little sister that when he cried himself to sleep after the first month Nyx was gone. It had been four months now, and they hadn't heard anything whatsoever from anyone in the war.

_I .. w i l l .. s t a n d .. b y .. y o u .. f o r e v e r .._

Ryuudou left shortly after, heading back home to train and get her mind of Yevgeny's absence. When she left Yasuhiro jumped down and walked over to Taizen, gently putting his hand on Taizen's shoulder.

_Y o u .. c a n .. t a k e .. m y .. __b r e a t h .. a w a y .._

_.. M u s i c a l .. i n t e r m i s s i o n .._

Kusari leaned down and kissed Orimaru somewhat roughly after he pulled his hand away from her face. She didn't completely understand what was going through his mind but a part of her did know. She'd never felt so dependant before, not since she was a young girl when her mother was still alive. Once her mother had died, Kusari left with her father and had been independent ever since. After her father died and she started following Nozomu, she learned even more quickly. So why did she need this?

Ryuudou ran into a small room where she saw Lorelei laying on a bed staring up at the ceiling, a sad look across her face. Taizen and Yasuhiro stood in the doorway listening as Ryuudou asked where Nyx, Yevgeny and Vallen were. Lorelei told them the war was bad, after all she'd been sent back because of her injuries. That Nyx and the others were hurt and they wanted to come home but they couldn't. When Lorelei talked about Vallen, tears came to her eyes. She hated herself for leaving him.

Drako waited for what seemed like forever, first by the lake then in various places in the town. For two days he waited but he never caught wind of Raidne since she left that early morning by the lake. On the third day, he ran into Moriah in the streets. Moriah looked unusually depressed. When Drako asked what was wrong, Moriah was shocked that Drako didn't know the reason. Raidne was dead.

Raidne was shot down coming back from her mission. One of her fellow soldiers has I. the body the day before, after they had found her in a ditch. The funeral was later that day, near the base where Raidne had lived since the military took her off the streets.

Drako felt like someone just knocked the wind out of him. He couldn't breathe. Moriah seemed to know because he apologized to Drako before leaving him alone. Drako wandered aimlessly, still adapting to the shock. He found himself back at the lake, which wasn't shining anymore, despite the sunlight. It seemed lifeless. It was still and dead.

Drako fell to his knees beside the water as tears streamed down his cheeks. He leaned closer to the ground balling his hands into fist as he laid there all curled up.

_O h .. I .. j u s t .. w a n n a .. h o l d .. y o u .._

Drako cried out, screaming as loud as he could a couple of times before his voice died.

_I .. j u s t .. w a n n a .. h o l d .. y o u .. !_

"_Am I in too deep? Have I lost my mind?" _Darecry asked, staring into Nozomu's eyes, feeling himself fall apart. He just knew Nozomu would push him away, calling him some sort of demeaning name for a weakling. _"I don't care, you're here tonight!"_

Darecry leaned forward, laying his head against Nozomu's chest. He didn't care if Nozomu pushed him away violently, he had to, for even a few seconds, he needed to. To his surprise Nozomu put one arm around him and the other on the back of his head, holding Darecry close to his chest.

"_I can be your hero baby," _Nozomu whispered before softly kissing the top of Darecry's head.

_I .. c a n .. k i s s .. a w a y .. t h e .. p a i n .._

_I .. w i l l .. s t a n d .. b y .. y o u .. f o r e v e r .._

Orimaru leaned over to the woman lying beside him and kissed her cheek. He whispered in her ear how much he loved her, though he knew that wasn't even close to describing it. Kusari smiled, her eyes shut as she returned the phrase, knowing in her heart the same thing.

"_Mmm you can take my breath away," _Orimaru told her, only making her smile more.

Lorelei was sitting by Ryuudou on a worn down couch, still feeling wretched for leaving the boy she loved and her best friend behind in a war because of injuries. Ryuudou was shaking like crazy despite being under two blankets, the news said the war was over, had been for two days, but they weren't back.

Taizen watched his sister from the wall of the room, where he was leaning beside Yasuhiro, feeling like he was ready to kill himself. Yasuhiro had talked to Reianshitsu a lot recently but even yesterday when he talked to Reianshitsu, it didn't seem to help. Yasuhiro couldn't find comfort even from his best friend.

Just then the door opened. Taizen and Yasuhiro turned that way, leaning up off the wall as the girls on the couch looked over the back of it to see who opened the door.

_I .. c a n .. b e .. y o u r .. h e r o ..!_

Nyx was standing there having several cuts on her face while she leaned on one leg minimizing the pressure she put on the other leg. Her body was broken down and she looked worn out but in her eyes it showed that she didn't care. She was looking at the two men she survived for.

_I .. c a n .. k i s s .. a w a y .. t h e .. p a i n .._

Yevgeny was standing to her right side his hair cut shorter then Yasuhiro's. He had several cuts, even more then Nyx had on his face, as well as his neck and the other places you could see around his uniform. Ryuudou instantly got up and ran to him, latching onto him refusing to let go. She started crying holding on as tight as she could. Yevgeny put his arms around her leaning against her as he closed his eyes.

Vallen looked at Lorelei from the doorway and offered her a smile. Lorelei smiled back as best she could, feeling all the hatred for herself vanish now that she knew he was okay. She got up and walked over to him, just wanting to be around him.

_I .. w i l l .. s t a n d .. b y .. y o u .. f o r e v e r .. !_

Drako walked away from the place he'd watched the funeral from. It was a nice funeral, fitting for a soldier. He didn't want to be close even though Moriah had told him he could be. So he'd watched from a considerable distance until they'd completely buried the body and everyone else had left.

_Y o u .. c a n .. t a k e .. m y .. __b r e a t h .. a w a y .._

In the corners of his eyes he saw someone walking toward him, dressed all in black with vibrant hair that stood out especially with the dark clothing. The environment around him was fuzzy and he didn't really take the time to look at first but when it didn't go away he lifted his head and looked at the person. His breath caught in his throat as he saw Raidne walking to him.

_Y o u .. c a n .. t a k e .. m y .. __b r e a t h .. a w a y .._

He blinked a few times in disbelief before she got to him and grabbed his shirt, holding a tight grasp on him as she leaned against him. As he felt her against him he realized that she was really there, it wasn't a hallucination or one of those angels showing up after a person's died. Raidne was assumed dead when the soldier I. her but it wasn't really her, she used that as an excuse to get away from the military she'd wanted to get away from since they took her.

Tears came to his eyes again as he put his arms around her, holding her close. There he made the decision never to let go again.

Nozomu held Darecry close as Darecry cried for a bit against his chest. After a little while Darecry calmed down and Nozomu let go of him, pushing the hair out of Darecry's face when he lifted his head off Nozomu's chest. Nozomu leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against Darecry's, stroking Darecry's wet cheek as the rain outside lightened to a mist.

_I .. c a n .. y o u r .. h e r o .. … … _


End file.
